Bolivia: President Arce replaces military leadership for fear of coup d’état

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, replaced the High Military Command of the Army late on Tuesday in fear of a possible coup d’état while the strong and violent protests continue, whose epicenter is in Santa Cruz, where the opposition demands that the population census is held in 2023.

“It is their duty to protect peace and order with strict adherence to the Constitution. Today Bolivia is once again threatened by those who, unable to contribute to democracy, bet on confrontation and violence,” Arce alleged to the Military High Command, the third in less than two years, during his inauguration.

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Arce warned that there is once again in Bolivia “a strategy to repeat the 2019 coup” and reminded the new Army chiefs that they have a legal obligation to protect the people and the government that came out of the polls.

Arce’s appointments are Hugo Arandia López, as the new commander in chief of the Armed Forces; Gonzalo Vigabriel Sánchez, as chief of the General Staff; Marcelo Zegarra Gutiérrez for the Air Force; Juan Arnez Salvador for Naval; and Juan José Zúñiga as head of the Army, details the newspaper El Deber.

The opposition hastened to criticize these appointments, claiming that they seek to militarize the department of Santa Cruz as episodes of violence during the protests intensify. Some retired soldiers point out that Arce would be breaking the norm and promoting personnel with complaints.

Eleven days after the general strikes began in Santa Cruz, the Government Minister, Eduardo del Castillo, pointed out that it is “technically” impossible for the population census to be held in 2023, as required by the opposition led by the governor, Luis Fernando Camacho, who is aware of this.

Del Castillo lamented that Camacho “wants to carry out a census without completing the procedural stages” and asked to establish “a dialogue without whims” because he is close to seeing how “violence overflows” in Santa Cruz.

“We do not want more confrontations, we publicly ask for reflection,” he demanded.

“The whim of a person is taking precedence (…). We have images of the extreme content of the violence, it is time to leave the violence and go to dialogue, they want to set the country on fire,” Del Castillo denounced after the latest episodes of violence recorded this Tuesday between supporters of the strike against detractors and the Police.

The team of outgoing military authorities was sworn in on October 4, 2021, and President Arce highlighted “his commitment and dedication” despite his words about a possible coup.

With information from bbcl